𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

lxviii. his gift, his curse

chapter sixty-eight
his gift, his curse

THEIR PLACE. A rooftop away from the school bell, away from the hustle and bustle of excited students, away from the cameras and the questions and the accusations ... and now, a place for Peter Parker to hide from the horrible mistakes he has made. Nina felt her heart twist in the most painful way she'd ever experienced the moment she saw the dim porch lights of Midtown High in the distance. A stretch of roof between the Biology and Engineering rooms amongst the exhausting wheeze of the lab ventilation systems that had become the safe space for both Peter and Nina so far this year. Their spot.

When they were dropped off onto the biology roof beside them, Nina could tell that Peter knew they were there. She hovered by the small ladder that went down to where he was, watching his hunched figure▬stiff with pain and rigid with a desperate attempt to keep his tears at bay. His honey-brown curls had turned dark, drenched to his forehead from the rain earlier. She saw scathes to his suit like claws and glass had punctured his back and shoulders. Even in the darkness of the late night, Nina's breath hitched at the blood on his face, the gash above his brows and the bruises on his jaw. He looked beaten and torn▬ripped apart and stamped underfoot. She had never seen Peter ... seen Spider-Man so ... she had never seen him in a moment where he had fallen down and was yet to get back up. And the sight sent a jolt of fear to her chest.

Nina had thought about it▬of course, she had thought about it: the idea that maybe, one day, what Peter did would get him killed. But the excitement of it all▬of defeating bad guys, figuring out secrets and helping a superhero who was also her boyfriend▬had disguised the danger. It had made her forget the fear and the dread▬the moments when she was patching Peter up on her bedroom floor, praying that her parents wouldn't come in or see the blood on her shirt before she cleaned it. But now, she was seeing all of that shock and horror right in front of her▬the danger that they all put themselves in daily. But more importantly, the danger Peter threw himself into. Tonight, Aunt May had died. Tonight, Spider-Man had lost.

She held her breath as she slowly climbed her way down onto the roof below. Ned, MJ and Felicia followed her▬all of them quiet and unsure.

Nina's footsteps were soft and delicate, but she bit back a painful lump in her throat as she got closer. She saw Peter tense up▬he refused to look at them, or maybe just her. He didn't want Nina to see him like this▬to see Spider-Man so defeated.

She set down Dr. Strange's artefact and stopped right beside Peter. Gentle and soft, she knelt down. Nina watched his brows knit together and his jaw clench, furiously trying to keep himself from breaking down, but when her fingers delicately brushed to his cheek▬and he turned to glance at her, her heart broke with him. Nina didn't say a word and just leaned in, pressing a kiss to his temple and Peter Parker shattered in her arms.

Nina held him tight to her shoulder as he wept, her eyes clenching shut. She nuzzled her head into his shoulder as well, feeling his hands claw at her jumper sleeves and waist, holding onto her in a trembling grip that did not want to let go. Peter Parker's sobs were broken and cracked▬fractured like someone had thrown a hammer at a wall of glass, and the cracks splintered right from the centre all up to the corners ... right at the centre, to Peter Parker's heart.

On his other side, Ned crouched down and wrapped his arms around Peter, too. He held him just as tightly. MJ's hug squeezed from behind and Felicia shuffled in next▬soon, they all embraced Peter as he cried for his Aunt May, huddling close and tight, finding comfort within each other, and allowing Peter a shield to break without the world watching.

Nina shed a few tears herself, silent and mourning▬filled with grief not just for May, but also for Peter who had lost so much. She let Peter pull her closer, one hand gripping the crook of her knee and the other clutching Ned's hand on his shoulder. Her arms around his shoulders squeezed as she shuffled in as close as she could.